European Trade Commissioner Pledges to End Quota Dispute

By THOMAS FULLER

Published: August 29, 2005

Peter Mandelson, the European trade commissioner, sought to quiet a dispute over Chinese textile imports on Sunday, promising to release within a month the 80 million Chinese-made sweaters, trousers and bras that are held up in European ports.

But the sheer volume of the disputed clothing and possible opposition by some European governments could threaten to unravel Mr. Mandelson's plan.

Sunday's comments were the first time that Mr. Mandelson, who has come under sharp criticism from European retailers and importers, had offered a timetable for a resolution to the ineffective quota system that he negotiated with China in June. Among the clothing blocked in European ports are 47.7 million sweaters, or more than one for every 10 citizens of the European Union.

Mr. Mandelson's pledge to end the dispute said little about a team of European negotiators in Beijing who are scheduled for a fifth day of talks on Monday on how to loosen the quota system. He repeated on Sunday that the system had a ''glitch.''

He added: ''I believe that we will be able to unblock all the goods currently held at customs by the middle of next month.''

The European Commission reconvenes in Brussels on Monday after its summer break. Mr. Mandelson deflected criticism that he had not returned from his vacation soon enough to deal with the problem and blamed European governments and the Chinese authorities for issuing too many import and export licenses. He urged European governments, which are divided on what to do about the quota system with China, not to block his proposal to release the 80 million garments.

''I hope they will do nothing to prevent the speedy passage of those procedures that will result in the goods being unblocked,'' he said.

Italy and France have been the strongest defenders of the quotas, while northern countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Finland warned that the blocked items damaged the retail sector.

An official at the French Trade Ministry, reached at home on Sunday, said that France would examine the proposal but that Paris was reluctant to do anything that would impinge on the ''spirit'' of the pact limiting Chinese textile imports.

''This agreement on textiles was difficult to reach with the Chinese. So it's important that it is not put into question,'' said the official, who would not speak for attribution because he had not seen the details of Mr. Mandelson's proposal.

A spokeswoman for the European Commission, Amelia Torres, called Mr. Mandelson's solution an ''initial proposal.''

Asked how a proposal could be made when negotiations were continuing in Beijing, Ms. Torres said keeping the European trade negotiators in China ''will allow us to keep the lines of communication open.''

Mr. Mandelson sought to mend fences with retailers Sunday, saying that they should not be unfairly penalized.

''It is not the fault of importers; it is not the fault of retailers,'' he said. ''I don't believe that they should be unfairly penalized as a result of the agreement that I made.''

This was a reversal from a statement on Aug. 9, when he said importers were ''trying to beat the restrictions.''

Stuart Newman, a legal adviser at the Foreign Trade Association, a European body representing retailers and importers that has been critical of Mandelson, said: ''He keeps saying different things. He seems to be blaming different people at different times.''

The agreement with China took effect July 12. As of Sunday, quotas were filled in six categories: T-shirts, sweaters, trousers, women's blouses, bras and flax yarn.

Mr. Newman said his group thought that garments ordered from China before July 12 should not be included in the quotas.

''What we've proposed is that the backlogs for orders placed up until the 12th of July be cleared irrespective of the quota levels,'' he said. ''We don't think the quotas should apply before that date.''

Photo: Peter Mandelson promised to release 80 million Chinese garments held up in European ports. (Photo by Laurent Gillieron/European Pressphoto Agency)